January Blues

January may not seem like a hub of nature activity, but Lisa Lillywhite tells how you can find the small joys in every day life.

The short days of
January don’t seem to hold much opportunity to get outside, storm after storm
have taken their toll on muddy paths and gardens. But I mulched the branches of
the Christmas tree and made a tall bird feeder with the trunk. It’s drawing a
few birds in search of food, which is nice to watch in the early mornings as
the daylight appears.

On the one or two
bright (and dry) evenings that there have been I unload the car of school bags
and lunchboxes while listening to the calls of chaffinches and great tits and
-I think- the song of the blackbird. I imagine them embarking on shy courtship
of one another, their birdsongs acting like a dating profile. And away from my
seeing eyes the beginnings of nest building might be taking place.

Their search is a wide
one and a lone Robin joined me for a fleeting moment on the kitchen table as I
sat with coffee enjoying a few moments warm sunshine. I was soon dismissed in
favour of one of his own kind. He didn’t stay for long but reminded me I’m not
the only one out there weathering the season.

Not just the birds but
other flying species have caused us to look upward. Thanks to BBC’s Stargazing
Live we’ve searched the sky for the space shuttle whizzing by, we always come indoors
saying we’ll look again tomorrow. The Orion constellation is an easy one
which my kids seem to always find, the kind of wonky block shape reminiscent of
a minecraft figure strapped with a bright belt and sword.

My mind turns to
gardening and I resolve to sow seeds early and prepare for the months ahead.
Sure enough the season will turn, and I’ll do well to follow the birds example
and be ready with my nest. But oh, the January blues can be hard and in the
meantime I’ll try to enjoy the lights of the stars a little bit longer.